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ADDRESS 



TO THE 



PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, 



TtSGBTHER WITH THE 



r> 



^ PROCEEDINGS AND RESOLUTIONS 

,1. ' 



OF THE 



PRO-SLAVERY CONVENTION 

, OF MISSOURI, 
HELD AT LEXINGTON, 

JULY, 1855. 



ST. LOUIS, MO. 

PRINTED AT THE REPUBLICAN OFFICE. 

1855. 






ADDRESS 



TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



We have been appointed by a Convention of citizens of Mis- 
souri, mainly representing tliat portion of the State lying con- 
tiguous to the Territoiy of Kansas, to lay before you some 
suggestions, upon a topic which vitally concerns our State, and 
which, it is believed, may to a serious extent affect the general 
welfare of our country. 

We propose to discharge this duty by a concise and candid ex- 
position of facts, touching our condition, and its bearing upon 
Kansas, accompanied with such reflections as the facts naturally 
suggest. 

That portion of Missouri which borders on Kansas contains, 
as nearly as can now be ascertained, a population of fifty thou- 
sand slaves, and their estimated value, at the prices prevailing 
here, is about twenty-five millions of dollars. As the whole 
State contains but about one hundred thousand slaves, it will be 
seen that one- half of the entire slave population of Missouri is 
located in the eighteen counties bordering on Kansas, the greater 
portion of which is separated from that Territory by no natural 
boundary, and is within a day's ride of the line. This part 
of our vState is distinguished by an uniform fertility of soil, a 
temperate and healthful climate, and a population progressing 
rapidly in all the elements that constitute a prosperous commu- 
nity. Agriculture is in a most flourishing condition, and the 
towns and villages which have sprung up, indicate a steady pro- 
gress towards wealth, refinement and commercial importance. Nor 
have the higher interests of education, religion and science, been 
neglected ; but common schools, and respectable institutions of a 
higher grade, and churches of every Christian denomination, are 
found in every county. The great staple of this district is hemp, 
although tobacco, and corn, and wheat are also largely produced. 
The culture of hemp has been found profitable, — more so than 
cotton in the South ; and this fact, with the additional ones, that 



almost every foot of land within the counties alluded to, is won- 
derfully adapted by nature to its production, in greater quantities, 
and finer qualities, and at smaller cost, than in any other State 
in the Union, and that the climate is such as to permit the grow- 
ers of this article to reside on their estates, will readily explain 
and account for the unexampled growth of the country. Already 
it constitutes the most densely populated portion of our State, 
and its remarkable fertility of soil, and general salubrity of cli- 
mate, with the facilities for outlet furnished by a noble river, 
running through its midst, and two great railroads, destined soon 
to traverse its upper and lower border, will render it at no distant 
period, if left undisturbed, as desirable and flourishing a district 
as can be found in the Mississippi Valley. 

An idea has to some extent prevailed abroad, that Missouri 
contained but a very small slave population, and that the perma- 
nence of this institution here was threatened by the existence of 
at least a respectable minority of her citizens, ready and anxious 
to abolish it, and that only a slight external pressure was neces- 
sary to accomplish this purpose. We regret that this opinion has 
to some extent received countenance from the publication and 
patronage of journals in our commercial metropolis, evidently 
aiming at such a result. Without, however, going into any ex- 
planation of political parties here, which would be entirely foreign 
to our purpose, we think it proper to state, that the idea above 
alluded to is unfounded ; and that no respectable party can be 
found in this State, outside of St. Louis, prepared to embark in 
any such schemes. In that city, constituting the great outlet of 
our commerce, as well as that of several other States and Ter- 
ritories, it will not seem surprising that its heterogeneous popula- 
tion should furnish a foothold for the wildest and most visionary 
projects. St. Louis was, however, represented in our Conven- 
tion, and it is not thought unwarrantable to assume that the reso- 
lutions adopted by this body have received the cordial approbation 
of a large and influential portion ot her citizens. Other coun- 
ties, besides St. Louis, outside of the district to which our ob- 
servations have been principally directed, were also represented 
by delegates ; and had not the season of the year, the short notice 
of its intended session, and the locality where the Convention 
was held — remote from the centre of the State — prevented, we 
doubt not that delegates from every county in the State would 
have been in attendance. Indeed, a portion of the upper Missis- 
sippi and lower Mississippi counties are as deeply, though less di- 
rectly interested in this question, as any part of this State ; and 
their citizens are known to accord most heartily in the sentiments 
and actions of Western Missouri. Even in the south-west part 
of our State, from the Osage to the borders of Arkansas, where 
there are but few slaves, the proceedings of public meetings indi- 



cate tlie entire and active sympathy of their people. From the 
general tone oP the public press throughout the State, a similar 
inference is deducible, and, we feel warranted in asserting, a 
very general, if not unanimous concurrence in the principles 
adopted by the Lexington Convention. Those principles are em- 
bodied in a series of resolutions appended to this address, and 
which, we are happy to say, were adopted with entire unanimity, 
by a body representing every shade of political opinion to be 
found in the interior of our State. These facts are conclusive 
of the condition of public sentiment in Missouri. The probabili- 
ties of changes here in reference to the question of slavery, are 
not essentially diflferent from what they are in Tennessee, or Vir- 
ginia, or Kentucky. In relation to numbers, a reference to the 
census shows that Missouri contains double the number of Arkan- 
sas, nearly double the number of Texas, and about an equal 
number with Maryland. 

These facts are stated with a view to a proper understanding 
of our position in reference to the settlement of Kansas, and the 
legitimate and necessary interest felt in the progress and charac- 
ter of that settlement. Previous to the repeal of the Congres- 
sional restriction of 1820, by which Missouri was thrown into an 
isolated position in reference to the question of slavery, and 
made a solitary exception to a general rule, her condition in re- 
gard to the territory west of her border, and yet north of the 
geographical line which Congress had fixed as the terminus of 
Southern institutions, was truly unenviable. ^Vith two States on 
her northern and eastern border, in many portions of which the 
Constitution of the United States, and the Fugitive Slave Law, 
passed in pursuance thereof, were known to be as ineflficacious for 
the protection of our rights as they would have been in London 
or Canada, it was left to the will of Congress, by enforcing the re- 
striction of 1820, to cut Missouri oflF almost entirely from all 
territorial connexion with States having institutions congenial to ' 
her own, and with populations ready and willing to protect and 
defend them. No alternative was left to that body but to repeal 
the restriction, and thus leave to the Constitution and the laws of 
nature, the settlement of our territoi-ies, or, by retaining the re- 
striction, indirectly to abolish slavery in Missouri. If the latter 
alternative had to be selected, it would have been an act of 
charity and mercy to the slaveholders of Missouri, to warn them 
in time of the necessity of abandoning their homes, or manumit- 
ing or selling their slaves — to give them ample time to determine 
between the sacrifice of fifty millions of slave property, or sev- 
enty millions of landed estate. Direct legislation would have been 
preferable to indirect legislation, leading to the same result, and 
the enforcement of the restriction in the settlement of Kansas 
was virtually the abolition of slavery in Missouri. But Congress 



. acted more wisely, as we think, and with greater fidelity to the 
Constitution and the Union. 

The history of the Kansas -Nebraska bill is known to the coun- 
try. It abolished the geographical line of 36 deg. 30 min., by 
which the limits of slavery were restricted, and substituted a con- 
stitutional and just principle, which left to the settlers of the ter- 
ritories to adopt such domestic institutions as suited themselves. 

.If ever there was a principle calculated to commend itself to all 
reasonable men, and reconcile all conflicting interests, this would 
seem to have been the one. It was the principle of popular sove- 
reignty — the basis upon which our independence had been 
achieved — and it was therefore supposed to be justly dear to all 
Americans, of every latitude and every creed. But fanaticism 
was not satisfied. The abolitionists and their allies moved heaven 
and earth to accomplish its defeat, and although unsuccessful, 
they did not therefore despair. Out-voted in Congress, receiving 
no countenance from the Executive, they retired to another theatre 
of action, and, strange to say, they prostituted an ancient and 
respectable Commonwealth — one of the Old Thirteen — to com- 
mence, in her sovereign capacity as a State, with the means and 

^ imposing attitude incident to such a position, a crusade against 
slavery, novel in its character, more alarming in its features, and 
likely to be more fatal in its consequences, than all the fanatical 
movements hitherto attempted, since the appearance of aboli- 
tionism as a political party in 1835. They originated and matured a 
scheme, never before heard of or thought of in this country, the 
object and efiect of which was to evade the principle of the Kan- 

. sas-Nebraska bill, and in lieu of non-intervention hy Congress 
to substitute active intervention by the States. An act of in- 
corporation was passed ; a company with a capital of five mill- 
ions was chartered ; and this company was authorized to enlist an 

'army of mercenary fanatics, and transport them to Kansas. 

• Recruiting officers were stationed in places most likely to furnish 
the proper material ; premiums were offered for recruits ; the 
public mind was stimulated by glowing and false descriptions of 
the country proposed to be occupied, and a Hessian band of 
mercenaries was thus prepared and forwarded, to commence and 
carry on a war of extermination against slavery. 

To call these people emigrants^ is a sheer perversion of lan- 
guage. They are not sent to cultivate the soil, to better their 
social condition, to add to their individual comforts, or the aggre- 
gate wealth of the nation. They do not move from choice or taste, 
or from any motive affecting, or supposed to aff"ect, themselves or 
their families. They have none of the marks of the old pioneers, 
who cut down the forests of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, or 
levelled the cane brakes of Tennessee and Mississippi, or broke 
up the plains of Illinois and Missouri. They are mostly ignor- 



ant of agriculture ; picked up in cities or villages, they of 
course have no experience as farmers, and if left to their unaided 
resources — if not clothed and fed by the same power which has 
effected their transportation — they would starve or freeze. They 
^re hire/ings — an army of hirelings — recruited and shipped in-' 
directly by a sovereign state of this Union, to make war upon an 
institution noiv existing in the Territory to which they are trans- 
planted, and thence to inflict a fatal blow upon the resources, the 
prosperity and the peace of a neighboring State. They are ?}ii/i- 
tarij colonies, planted by a State government, to subdue a terri- 
tory opened to settlement by Congress, and take exclusive 
possession thereof. In addition to that esprit dii corps, which of 
necessity pervades such an organization, they have in common a 
reckless and desperate fanaticism, which teaches them that slavery 
is a sin, and that they are doing God's service in hastening its 
destruction. They have been picked and culled from the ignor- 
ant masses, which Old England and New England negro philan- 
thropy has stirred up and aroused to madness on this topic, and 
have been selected with reference to their views on this topic 
alone. They are men with a single idea ; and to carry out this, 
they have been instructed and taught to disregard the laws of 
God and man ; to consider bloodshed and arson, insurrection, 
destruction of property, or servile war, as the merest trifles, com- 
pared with the glory and honor of seducing a single slave from 
his master, or harboring and protecting the thief who has carried 
him ofi"! 

That such a population would be fatal to the peace and secur- 
ity of the neighboring State of Missouri, and immediate de- 
struction of such owners of slaves as had already moved to the 
Territory of Kansas, is too clear to admit of argument. A 
horde of our western savages, with avowed purposes of destruc- 
tion to the white race, would be less formidable neighbors. 

The colonization of Kansas with a population of this charac- 
ter was a circumstance which aroused attention, and excited alarm 
among our citizens here, and those who had already emigrated to 
Kansas. Could any other result have been expected ? Did sensi- 
ble men at the North — did the abolitionists themselves, expect any 
other ? 

Missouri contained, as we have seen, one hundred thousand 
slaves, and their value amounted to fifty millions of dollars. Had 
these fanatics who pronounced slavery an individual sin, and a 
national curse, ever yet pointed out any decently plausible scheme 
by which it could be removed ? The entire revenue of our State, 
for ordinary fiscal purposes, scarcely reaches five hundred thou- 
sand dollars, and the abolition of slavery here would involve the 
destruction of productive capital estimated at fifty millions of 
dollars, or a taxation upon the people of five millions of dollars 



8 

annually, wliicli is the legalized interest upon this amount of capital, 
besides the additional tax which would be necessary to raise a sink- 
ing fund to pay off the debt created. The Constitution of Mis- 
souri prohibits the Legislature from passing laws emancipating 
slaves, without a full compensation to their owners ; and it is 
therefore apparent, that ten- fold the entire revenue of the State 
would be barely sufficient to pay the interest upon a sum equiva- 
lent to the actual moneyed value of the slaves, without providing 
any means to extinguish the principal which such a debt would 
create. We omit altogether, in this calculation, the impractica- 

' bility and impolicy and cruelty to both races, of liberating the 
slaves here, with no provision for their removal, and the additional 
debt which such removal would create, equal, in all probability, to 
that occasioned by their mere emancipation. It would seem then, 
that the merest glance at the statistical tables of our State, showing 

. its population and revenue, must have satisfied the most sanguine 
abolitionist of the futility of his schemes. If the investigation 
was pursued further, and our estimate was made to embrace the 
three millions and a half of slaves now in the southern and 
south-western States, and the billions to which our computation 
must ascend in order to ascertain their value in money, this anti- 
slavery crusade, which presents itself in a form of open aggres- 
sion against the white race, without the semblance or pretext of 

' good to that race for which the abolitionist professes so much re- 
gard, and which stands so much higher in his affections than his 
own, is seen to be one of mere folly and wickedness, or, what is 
perhaps worse, a selfish and sectional struggle for political power. 
It is a singular fact, and one worthy of notice in this connexion, 
that in the history of African slavery up to this time, no govern- 
ment has ever yet been known to abolish it, which fairly repre- 
sented the interests and opinions of the governed. Great Britain, 

- it is true, abolished slavery in Jamaica, but the planters of Ja- 
maica had no potential voice in the British Parliament. The 
abolition of slavery in New England, and in the middle States, 
can hardly be cited as an exception, since that abrogation was not 
so much the result of positive legislation, as it was of natural 
causes — the unfitness of climate and productions to slave labor. 
It is well known to those familiar with the jurisprudence of this 
country, and of England, that slavery has been in no instance 
created by positive statutory enactment, nor has it been thus abol- 
ished in any country, when the popular will was paramount in 
legislative action. Its existence and non-existence appears to de- 
pend entirely upon causes beyond the reach of governmental ac- 

' tion, and this fact should teach some dependence upon the will of 
an overruling Providence, which works out its ends in a mode, 
and at a time, not always apparent to finite mortals. 
The history of some of our slaveholding States, in relation to 



efforts oE this cliaracter, it would socm, ought to be conclusive, 
at least, against those who have no actual interests involved, and 
whom a proper sense ol: self-respect, if not of constitutional 
obligation, should restrain from impertinent interference. Vir- 
ginia in 1831, and Kentucky more recently, were agitated from * 
centre to circumference by a bold and unrestricted discussion of 
the subject of emancipation. Upon the hustings and in legisla- 
tive assemblies, the subject was thoroughly examined, and every 
project M'hich genius or philanthropy could suggest, was investi- 
gated. Brought forward in the Old Dominion, under the sanction 
of names venerated and respected throughout the limits of the 
commonwealth — well known to have been a cherished project of 
her most distinguished statesmen — favored by the happening of a 
then recent servile disturbance, and patronized by some of the 
most patriotic and enlightened citizens, the scheme nevertheless 
failed, without a show of strength or a step in advance towards 
the object contemplated. The magnitude of the difficulties to be • 
overcome was so great, and so obvious, as to strike alike the 
emancipationists and their adversaries. The result has been, both 
in Virginia and Kentucky, that slavery, to use the language of 
one of Kentucky's eloquent and distinguished sons, and one, too, 
of the foremost in the work of emancipation, *' has been accepted' 
as a permanent part of their social system." Can it be that there • < 
is a destitution of honesty — of intelligence — of patriotism audi 
piety in slaveholding States, and that these qualities are alone to 
be found in Great Britain and the northern free States ? If not, 
the conclusion must be, that the difficulties in the way of such an 
enterprise exceed all the calculations of statesmanshp and philos- 
ophy ; and their removal must await the will of that Being, 
whose prerogative it is to moke crooked paths straight, and justify 
he ways of God to man. 

We have no thought of discussing the subject of slavery. 
Viewed in its social, moral or economical aspects, it is regarded, . 
as the resolutions of the Convention declare, as solely and ex- 
clusively a matter of State jurisdiction, and therefore, one which 
does not concern the Federal Government, or the States where it 
does not exist. We have merely adverted to the fact, in con- 
nexion with the recent abolition movements upon Kansas, that 
amidst all their fierce denunciations of slavery for twenty years 
past, these fanatics have never yet been able to suggest a plan for • 
its removal, consistent with the safety of the white race — saying, 
nothing of constitutional guarantees. Federal and State. 

The colonization scheme of Massachusetts, as we have said, . 
excited alarm in Missouri. Its obvious design was to operate 
further than the mere prevention of the natural expansion of 
slavery. It was intended to narrow its existing limits, — to de- 
stroy all equilibrium of power between the North and the South, _> 



10 

.. and leave the slaveholder at the will of a majority, ready to dis- 
regard constitutional obligations, and carry out to their bitter end 
-the mandates of ignorance, prejudice and bigotry. Its success 
manifestly involved a radical change in our Federal Government, 
'or its total overthrow. If Kansas could be thus abolitionized, 
every additional part of the present public domain hereafter opened 
to settlement, and every future accession of territory, would be the 
subject of similar experiments, and an exploded Wilmot Proviso 
thus virtually enforced throughout an extended domain still 
claimed as national^ and still bearing on its military ensigns the 
stars and stripes of the Union. If the plan was constitutional 
and legal, it must be conceded that it was skillfully contrived, and 
admirably adapted to its ends. It was also eminently practicable, 
if no resistance was encountered, since the States adopting it 
contained a surplus population which could be bought up and 
^ shipped, whilst the South, which had an interest in resisting, had 
no such people among her white population. The Kansas-Ne- 
braska law, too, which was so extremely hateful to the fanatics, 
and has constituted the principal theme of their recent denuncia- 
tions, would be a dead letter, both as it regai-ded the two Territo- 
ries for which it was particularly framed, and as a precedent to 
Congress for the opening of other districts to settlement. The 
old Missouri restriction could have done no more, and the whole 
purpose of the anti-slavery agitators, both in and out of Congress, 
was quietly accomplished. But the scheme failed — as it deserved 
to fail ; and as the peace, prosperity, and union of our country 
required it should fail. It was a scheme totally at variance with 
the genius of our government, both State and Federal, and with 
the social institutions which these governments were designed to 
protect, and its success would have been as fatal to those who 
contrived it, as it could have been to those intended to be its vic- 
tims. 

The circumstance of novelty is entitled to its weight in politics 
as well as law- The abolition irruption upon Kansas is without 
precedent in our history. Seventy- nine years of our national life 
have rolled by ; Territory after Territory has been annexed, or 
settled, and added to the galaxy of States, until from thirteen 
ive have increased to thirty -two ; yet it never before entered 
into the head of any statesman. North or South, to devise a plan 
•of acquiring exclusive occupation of a Territory by State coloni- 
zation. To Massachusetts belongs the honor of its invention, and 
we trust she will survive its defeat. But, she is not the Massachu- 
setts, we must do justice to her past history to say, that she was 
in the times of her Adams', her Hancocks, and her Warrens ; nor 
yet is she where she stood in more recent times, when her Web- 
sters, and Choates, and Winthrops, led the van of her statesmen. 
Her legislative halls are filled with ruthless fanatics, dead to the 



11 

past and reckless to the future ; her statute books are polluted 
with enactments purporting to annul the laws of Congress, passed 
in pursuance, and by reason of the special requirements of the 
Constitution ; and her senatorial chairs at Washington are filled 
by a rhetorician and a bigot, one of whom studies to disguise in the 
drapery of a classic elocution, the most hideous and treasonable* 
forms of fanaticism ; whilst his colleague is pleased to harano-ue a 
city rabble with open and unadulterated disunionism, associated 
"with the oracles of abolitionism and infidelity — a melancholy 
spectacle to the descendants of the compatriots of Benjamin 
Franklin ! 

No southern or slaveholding State has ever attempted to colo- 
nize a Territory. Our public lands have been left to the occu- 
pancy of such settlers as soil and climate invited. The South 
has sent no armies to force slave labor upon those who preferred 
free labor. Kentucky sprung from Virginia, as did Tennessee 
from North Carolina, and Kansas will from Missouri — from con- 
tiguity of territory, and similarity of climate. Emigration has 
followed the parallels of latitude and will continue to do so, 
unless diverted by such organizations as Emigrant Aid Societies 
and Kansas Leagues. 

It has been said that the citizens of Massachusetts have an un- . 
doubted right to emigrate to Kansas ; that this right may be 
exercised individually, or in families, or in larger private associa- 
tions ; and that associated enterprise, under the sanction of 
legislative enactments, is but another and equally justifiable form* 
of emigration. Political actions, like those of individuals, must, 
be judged by their motives and effects. Unquestionably, emigra- 
tion, both individual and collective, from the free States to the 
South, and, vice versa, from the slave States to the North, has 
been progressing from the foundation of our government to the- 
present day, without comment and without objection. It is not 
pretended that such emigration, even if fostered by State patron- • 
age, would be illegal, or in any respect objectionable. The wide 
expanse of the fertile West, and the deserted wastes of the sunny 
South, invite occupation ; and no man, from the southern ex- 
tremity of Florida to the northern boundary of Missouri, has 
ever objected to an emigrant simply because he was from the 
North, and preferred free labor to that of slaves. Upon this 
subject he is allowed to consult his own taste, convenience, and 
conscience ; and it is expected that he will permit his neighbors 
to exercise the same privilege. But, no one can fail to distin- 
guish between an honest, buna fide emigration, prompted by choice 
or necessity, and an organized colonization with offensive pur- 
poses upon the institutions of the country proposed to be settled. 
Nor can there be any doubt in which class to place the movements 
of Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Societies and Kansas Lea;2;ues. 



12 

Their motives have been candidly avowed, and their objects boldly 
proclaimed throughout the length and breadth o£ the land. Were 
this not the case, it would still be impossible to mistake them. Why, 
we might well enquire, if simple emigration was in view, are these 
extraordinary efforts confined to the Territory of Kansas? Is 
Nebraska, which was opened to settlement by the same law, less 
desirable, less inviting to northern adventurers, than Kansas? 
Are Iowa, and Washington, and Oregon, and Minnesota, and 
Illinois and iNiichigan, filled up with population — their lands all 
occupied, and furnishing no room for Massachusetts emigrants ? 
Is Massachusetts herself overrun with population — obliged to rid 
herself of paupers whom she cannot feed at home ? Or, is Kan- 
sas, as eastern orators have insinuated, a newly discovered para- 
dise — a modern El Dorado, where gold and precious stones can 
be gathered at pleasure; or an Arcadia, where nature is so bounti- 
ful as not to need the aid of man, and fruits and vegetables of 
every desirable description spontaneously spring up ? 

There can be but one answer to these questions, and that 
answer shows conclusively the spirit and intent of this miscalled 
and pretended emigration. // is a?i anti-slavery Tuovement. 
As such it was organized and put in motion by an anti- slavery 
legislature ; as such, the organized army was equipped in Massa- 
chusetts, and transported to Kansas ; and, as such, it was met 
there and defeated. 

If further illustration was needed of the illegality of these 
movements upon Kansas, we might extend our observations to 
the probable reception of similar movements upon a State. If 
the Massachusetts legislature, or that of any other State, have 
the right to send an army of abolitionists into Kansas, they have 
the same right to transport them to Missouri. We are not 
apprised of any provisions in the constitutions or laws of the 
States, which in this respect distinguishes their condition from 
that of a territory. We have no laws, and we presume no slave- 
holding State has, which forbids the emigration of non-slave- 
holders. Such laws, if passed, would clearly conflict with the 
Federal Constitution. The southern and south-western slave- 
holding States are as open to emigration from non-slaveholding 
States as Kansas. They differ only in the price of land and the 
density of population. Let us suppose, then, that Massachusetts 
should turn her attention to Texas, and should ascertain that the 
population of that State was nearly divided between those who 
favored and those who opposed slavery, and that one thousand 
votes would turn the scale in favor of emancipation, and, acting 
in accordance with her world-wide philanthropy, she should resolve 
to transport the thousand voters necessary to abolish slavery in 
Texas, how would such a movement be received there? Or, to re- 
verse the proposition, let it be supposed that South Carolina, with 



IS 

her large slaveholdiii!: population, should undertake to transport a 
thousand slaveholders to Delaware, with a view to turn the scale 
in that State, now understood to be rapidly passing over to the 
list of free States, would the gallant sons of that ancient State, 
small as she is territorially, submit to such interference ? Now, 
the institutions of Kansas are as much fixed and as solemnly 
guaranteed by statute, as those of Delaware or Texas. The laws 
of Kansas Territory may be abrogated by succeeding legislatures ; 
but, so also may the laws, and even the constitutions, of Texas 
and Delaware. Kansas only differs from then- condition in her 
limited resources, her small population, and her large amount of 
marketable lands. There is no difference in principle between the 
cases supposed ; if justifiable and legal in the one, it is equally 
so in the other. They differ only in point of practicability and 
expediency ; the one would be an outrage, easily perceived, 
promptly met, and speedily repelled ; the other is disguised under 
the forms of emigration, and meets with no populous and organ- 
ized community to resent it. We are apprised that it is said, that 
the Kansas legislature was elected by fraud, and constitute no 
fair representation of the opinions of the people of the Territory. 
This is evidently the excuse of the losing party, to stimulate re- 
newed efforts among their friends at home ; but even this is re- 
futed by the record. The Territorial Governor of Kansas, a 
gentleman not suspected of, or charged with partiality to slavery 
or to its advocates, has solemnly certified under his official seal, 
that the statement is false ; that a large majority of the legisla- 
ture were duly and legally elected. Even in the districts where 
Governor Reeder set aside the elections for illegality, the subse- 
quent returns of the special elections ordered by him, produced 
the same result, except in a single district. There is, then, no 
pretext left, and it is apparent, that to send an army of aboli- 
tionists to Kansas to destroy slavery existing there, and recog- 
nized by her laws, is no more to be jratified on the part of the 
Massachusetts legislature, than it would be to send a like force to 
Missouri, with the like purposes. The object might be more 
easily and safely accomplished in the one case than in the other, 
but in both cases it is equally repugnant to every principle of in- 
ternational comity, and likely to prove equally fatal to the har- 
mony and peace of the Union. 

We conclude, then, that this irruption upon Kansas by Emi- 
grant Aid Societies and Kansas Leagues, under the patronage of 
the Massachusetts legislature, is to be regarded in no other light 
than a new phase of abolitionism, more practical in its aims, and 
therefore more dangerous than any form it has yet assumed. We 
have shown it to be at variance with the true intent of the act of 
Congress, by which the Territory was opened to settlement ; at 
variance with the spirit of the Constitution of the United States, 



14 

and witli the institutions o£ the Territory, already recognized by 
law ; totally destructive of that fellowship and good feeling which 
should exist among citizens of confederated States ; ruinous to the 
security, peace and prosperity of a neighboring State ; unprece- 
dented in our political annals up to this date, and pregnant with 
the most disastrous consequences to the harmony and stability of 
the Union. Thus far its purposes have been defeated ; but re- 
newed efforts are threatened. Political conventions at the north 
and north-west have declared for the repeal of the Kansas -Ne- 
braska law, and, anticipating a failure in this direction, are 
stimulating the anti- slavery sentiment to fresh exertions, for abo- 
litionizing Kansas after the Massachusetts fashion. We have 
discharged our duty in declaring the light in which such demon- 
strations are viewed here, and our firm belief of the spirit by 
which they will be met. If civil war and ultimate disunion are 
desired, a renewal of these efforts will be admirably adapted to 
such purposes. Missouri has taken her position in the resolu- 
tions adopted by the Lexington Convention, and from that posi- 
tion she will not be likely to recede. It is based upon the Con- 
stitution — upon justice, and equality of rights among the States. 
What she has done, and what she is still prepared to do, is in 
self-defence and for self-preservation ; and from these duties she 
will hardly be expected to shrink. With her, everything is at 
stake ; the security of a large slave property, the prosperity of 
her citizens, and their exemption from perpetual agitation and 
border feuds ; whilst the emissaries of abolition are pursuing a 
phantom — an abstraction, which, if realized, could add nothing to 
their possessions or happiness, and would be productive of de- 
cided injury to the race for whose benefit they profess to labor. 
If slavery is an evil, and it is conceded that Congress cannot in- 
terfere with it in the States, it is most manifest that its diffusion 
through a new territory, where land is valueless and labor pro- 
ductive, tends greatly to ameliorate the condition of the slaves. 
Opposition to the extension of slavery is not, then, founded upon 
any philanthropic views, or upon any love for the slave. It is a 
mere grasp for political power, beyond what the Constitution of 
the United States concedes ; and it is so understood by the 
leaders of the movement. And this additional power is not de- 
sired for constitutional purposes — for the advancement of the 
general welfare, or the national reputation. For such purposes 
the majority in the North is already sufficient, and no future 
events are likely to diminish it. The slaveholding States are in 
a minority, but so far, a minority which has commanded respect 
in the national councils. It has answered, and we hope will con- 
tinue to subserve the purposes of self- protection. Conservative 
men from other quarters have come up to the rescue, when the rights 
of the South have been seriously threatened. But it is essential 



15 

to tlie purposes of self-preservation, that this minority should 
not be materially weakened ; it is essential to the preservation 
of our present form of government, that the slave States should 
retain sufficient power to make effectual resistance against out- 
ward aggression upon an institution peculiar to them alone. 
Parchment guarantees, as all history shows, avail nothing against 
an overwhelming public clamor. The fate of the Fugitive Slave 
Law affords an instructive warning on the subject, and shows that 
the most solemn constitutional obligations will be evaded or 
scorned, where popular prejudice resists their execution. The 
South must rely on herself for protection, and to this end her 
strength in the Federal Government cannot bo safely diminished. 
If indeed it be true, as public men at the North have declared, 
and political assemblages have endorsed, that a determination has 
been reached in that quarter to refuse admission to any more 
slave States, there is an end to all argument on the subject. To 
reject Kansas, or any other Territory from the Union, simply and 
solely because slavery is recognized within her limits, would be 
regarded here, and, we presume, throughout the South and South- 
west, as an open repudiation of the Constitution — a distinct and 
unequivocal step towards a dissolution of the Union. "We pre- 
sume it would be so regarded everywhere. North and South. 
Taken in connexion with the abrogation of that provision of the 
Constitution which enforces the rights of the owners of slaves in 
all the States of the Union, into which they might escape, which 
has been effected practically throughout nearly all the free States, 
and more formally by solemn legislative enactments in a portion 
of them, the rejection of Kansas on account of slavery would be 
disunion in a form of grossest insult to the sixteen slave States 
now comprehended in the nation. It would be a declaration that 
slavery was incompatible with republican government, in the face 
of at least two formal recognitions of its legality, in terms, by 
the Federal Constitution. 

"We trust that such counsels have not the remotest prospect of 
prevailing in our National Legislature, and will not dwell upon 
the consequence of their adoption. We prefer to anticipate a re- 
turning fidelity to national obligations — a faithful adherance to 
the Constitutional guarantees, and the consequent prospect — 
cheering to the patriot of this and other lands — of a continued 
and perpetual UNION. 

WM. B. NAPTON, Chairman. 

STERLING PRICE, 

M. OLIVER, 

S. H. WOODSON. 



PROCEEDINGS 

or THE 

PRO-SLAYERT CONVENTION, 

HELD AT LEXINGTON, MO. 



The Convention was called to order by Judge Thompson, of 
Clay county, and on his motion Samuel H. Woodson, Esq., of 
Jackson county, was called to the chair ; and on motion of E. C. 
McCarty, Esq., Col. Sam. A. Lowe, of Pettis county, was ap- 
pointed Secretary. 

On motion of Col. Young, of Boone county. Resolved, that a 
committee of one delegate from each county represented in the 
Convention be raised, to select and report permanent officers for 
the Convention, and to select a committee who shall prepare reso- 
lutions and other business for the action ol: the Convention. 

In accordance with the above resolution, the following gentle- 
men were appointed said committee : 

J. W. Torbert, of Cooper county, 

Major Morin, of Platte " 

W. M. Jackson, of Howard " 

S. Barker, of Carroll '< 

A. G. Davis, of Caldwell " 

J. S. Williams, of Linn " 

E. C. McCarty, ot* Jackson " 

Austin A. King, of Ray " 

Edwin Toole, of Andrew " 

D. H. Chism, of Morgan " 

A. M. Forbes, of Pettis " 

A. G. Blakey, of Benton " 

Thomas E. Birch, of Clinton " 

G. H. C. Melody, of Boone " 

Sam. L. Sawyer, of Lafayette " 

C. F. Jackson, of Saline " 

Wm. Hudgins, of Livingston " 



17 

C. F. Chamblin, of Johnson county, 
. W. II. Russell, of Cass " 

John Dougherty, of Clay " 

Joseph Davis, of Henry " 

Capt. Head, of Randolph " 

John A. Leppard, of Davis " 
Wm. H. Buffington, of Cole '' 
On motion of Mr. Russell, of Cass county. Resolved, That the 
delegations from the different counties furnish the Secretary of 
this Convention with a li-^t of delegates from their counties. 

On further motion of Mr. Russell, of Cass County, permission 
was given to the committee on resolutions, &c., to retire and draft 
resolutions, to report as soon as practicable. 

On motion of Mr. Field, of Lafayette, a committee, consist- 
ing of Messrs. Field, of Lafayette, Bayless, of Platte, and 
Boyce, of Ray, was appointed to wait upon Messrs. D. R. At- 
chison and A. W. Doniphan, and invite them to address the 
Convention. 

Mr. Moss, of Clay, offered the following resolution : 
Resolved, That all persons who are present from the different- 
counties, although not appointed as delegates by their several^ 
counties, be considered as delegates to this Convention. 

Mr. Peabody, of Boone county, moved to amend so as to read,. 
That all persons from the different counties of the State, friendly - 
to the object of this Convention, be considered as delegates. 

Pending which question, on leave granted, Mr. Field, of La-- 
fayette county, from the committee appointed to wait on Messrs. 
D. R. Atchison and A. W. Doniphan, made their report, stating 
that those gentlemen declined addressing the Convention at the 
present time. 

On motion of Mr. Bryant, of Saline, the Convention adjourned 1 
to meet at 2 o'clock, P. M. 



EVENING SESSION. 

The Convention was called to order by the President, when, on' 
motion of Mr. Slack, of Livingston, the resolution offered by Mr. 
Moss, of Ciay, together with the amendment offered by Mr, Pea- 
body, which was pending when the Convention adjourned, was laid 
on the table. 

On motion of Mr. Field, of Lafayette, Major M. Oliver was 
requested to address the Convention, and to give his views on the 
different subjects now agitating this country, and which would be 
brought before this Convention ; which he was proceeding to do, 
when the committee on resolutions, kc, asked leave to make 
their report, which was granted. 



18 

Tlie committee then, tlirough their Chairman, Hon. A. A. 
King, submitted the following report : 

The Committee to whom was assigned the duty of designating 
permanent officers for this Convention, beg leave to report the 
following : 

For President, Hon. W. G. Wood, of Lafayette county. 
For Vice Presidents, Hon. J. T. V. Thompson, of Clay Co. 

Hon. John J. Lowry, of Howard " 
Secretaries, Hon. Samuel A. Lowe, of Pettis county, 

L. A. Wisely, of Platte " 

For Committee on Resolutions, 

Major Bradley, of Cooper county. 
Dr. Bayless, of Platte " 

B. F. Willis, of Clinton " 

S. A. Young, of Boone " 

Wade M. Jackson, of Howard '' 
Martin Slaughter, oP Lafayette " 
Stephen Stafford, of Carroll " 

VV. B. Napton, of Saline " 

W. S. Pollard, of Caldwell " 

W. y. Slack, of Livingston " 

J. S. Williams, of Linn *' 

G. D. Hansbrough, of Cass " 

Sam. H. Woodson, of Jackson " 
James H. Moss, of Clay " 

M. Oliver, of Ray " 

D. C. Stone, of Henry <« 

Robert Wilson, of Andrew *' 

B. W. Grover, of Johnson '* 

John S. Jones, of Pettis " 

John A. Leppard, of Daviess *' 

A. G. Blakey, of Benton " 

John Head, of Randolph " 

W. H. Buffington, of Cole " 

The committee also offered the following resolution, which was 
■adopted by the Convention : 

Resolved, That to ascertain the sense of this Convention on all 
propositions submitted lor its action, each county represented 
: shall be permitted to cast the same number of votes that it is en- 
titled to cast in the Lower House of the General Assembly of 
■this State. 

On motion of Col. Young, of Boone, a committee, consisting 
• of Messrs. Young, of Boone, Napton, of Saline, and Russell, of 
'Cass, was appointed to wait on the President, Hon. W. T. Wood, 
and escort him to the chair. 

On motion of Dr. McCabe, of Cooper, the Convention took a 
recess for one hour. 



19 

The Convention was again called to order by the President, 

Hon. W. T. Wood, when the following gentlemen appeared as de- 
legates, and took their seats : 

Andrew Co. — Robert Wilson and Edwin Toole. 

Bndun Co.— A. G. Blakej. 

Boone Co. — Saml. A. Young, Dr. Peabodj, Dr. Thomas, Col. 
Gr. H. C. Melody, IStcrling Price, Jr., and James Shannon. 

Caldwell Co.— W. S. Pollard, David Thomson, Wm. Griffey, 
Albert G. Davis. 

Carroll Co.— S. Barker, S. Stafford, W. J. Poindexter, R. H. 
Courts, C. Ilaskins, H. Wilcoxen, Judge Thomas, Hyram 
"Willson. 

Cass Co.— Wm. Palmer, J. F. Callaway, F. R. Martin, J. G. 
Mnrtin, T. Railey, J. T. Thornton, C. T. Worley, W. H. 
Russell, S. R. Crockett, T. F. Freeman, C. Vanhoy, G. D. 
Hansbrough, S. G. Allen, H. D Russell, J. T. Martin. 

Clay Co. — J. T. V. Thompson, John Dougherty, A W. Doni- 
phan, J. G. Price, D. J. Adkins, W. E. Price, W. McNealy, 
J. H. Moss, J. H. Adams, G. W. Withers, T. McCarty, E. 
P. Moore, J. :<l. Jones, L. A. 'Calbott, R. J. Lamb, J. Lin- 
coln, W. D. Hubble, T. M. Dawson, H. L. Rout, R. H. 
Miller, J. A. Poague, L. W. Burris, S. R. Shrader, G. 
Elgin, H. Corwine. 

Cooper Co.— J. W. Torbert, J. K. Ragland, Wm. Bradly, H. E. 
Moore, Geo. S. Cockrell, Thomas S.Cockrell, Horace W, 
Ferguson, R. Ellis, J. K. McCabe, Jacob Alstadt, H. 
Tracy. 

Clinlon Co —John Reed, B. F. Williss, C. C. Birch, M. Sum- 
mers, T. E. Birch, J. T. Hughes. 

Cole Co.—W. H. Buffington, R. R. Jefferson, J. C. Rogers, C. 
Eckier. 

Chariton Co. — W. S. Hyde, S. J. Cortes, L. Salisbury. 

Daviess Co. — B. Weldon, J. A. Leppard. 

Howard Co. — J. J. Lowry, S. Graves, W. Payne, R. Basket, 
M. Taylor, B. \V. Lewis, H. Cooper, J. B. Clark, R. 
Patterson. 

Hejiri/ Cu.—D. A. Gillespie, Jo. Davis, D. C. Stone, R. T. 
Lindsay, H. Lewis. 

Jackson, Co.— S. H. Woodson, W. M. F. Magraw, W. F. Ro- 
binson, W. Easley, E. C. McCarty, N. R. Mc Wurry, J. A. 
Winn, T. M. Adams, N. M. Millar, W. Ellis, E. McClana- 
han, John McCarty, J. M. Ridge, J. R. Henry, Col. J. M. 
Cogswell, Jno. Hambright. 

Johnsm Co. — Hy. Ousley, S. Craig, N. W. Perrv, W. Marr, 
W. L. Wood, W. L. Barksdale, C. F. Chamblin, J. M, 
Fulkerson, Reuben Fulkerson, W. P. Tucker, P. Alanion. 
\V. Kirkpatrick, B. \V. Grover. 



20 

Lafayette Co.—^. C. Sharp, W. K. Trigg, 0. Anderson, S. L. 
Sawyer, A. Jones, R. N. Smith, W. T. Field, W. M. Small- 
wood, Dr. G. A. Rucker, (a Committee to cast the vote.) 
Livingston Co.— A. T. Kirtly, A. Craig, W. Hudgins, W. Y. 

Shxck, W. F. Miller, W. 0. Jennings, J. D. Hoy. 
Li7i7i Co. — J. S. Williams. 
Morgan Co. — D. H. Chism. 
Pettis Co. — J. S. Jones, Saml. A. Lowe, A. M. Forbes, G. W. 

Rothwell, Geo. Anderson, T. E. Staples. 
Platte Co.—D. R. Atchison, Jo. Walker, G. W. Bayless, T. 
Beaumont, D. P. Wallingford,Iiy. Coleman, E. P. Duncan, 
Jesse Morin, P, Ellington, Sr., Jesse Summers, A. B. Stod- 
dard, Thomas H. Starnes, J. C. Hughes, Jno. H. Dorriss, 
F. P. Davidson, L. A. Wisely, II. B. Ladd. 
Randolph Co. — Judge Head. 

Rfiy Co. — A. A. King,B. J. Brown, Col. Bohannan, M. Oliver, 
Major Boyce, Judge Branstetter, Dr. Chew, W. Warriner, 
D. P. Whitmer, Dr. Woodward, S. A. Richardson, Major 
Shaw, Dr. Garner, A. Oliphant, T. A. H. Smith, G. J. 
Wasson, Judge Carter, J. E. Couch, G. L. Benton, J. P. 
Quisenberry, S. J. Brown, J. S. Shoop, J. S. Hughes, 1). 
D. Bullock, Dr. Stone, Judge Price, W. Hughes, C. T. 
Brown, 0. Taylor, M. C. Nuckolls, J. H. Taylor, R. Win- 
sett, J. P. Taylor, D. Harbison, Dr. Buchanan, W. M. 
Jacobs, Wm. Murry, Col. Smith. 
Saline Co. — W. B. Sappington, C, F. Jackson, 0. B. Pearson, 
T. R. E. Harvey, J. H. Irvine, L. B. Harwood, V. Mar- 
maduke, M. Marmaduke, J. H. Grove, Robert Grove, A. 
M. D.ivison, W. B. Napton, J. W. Bryant, T. W. B. 
Crews, F. A. Combs, M. W. O'Banon, Jas. Coombs, H. C. 
Simmons. 
Mr, Withers, of Clay, offered a series of resolutions, which 
he asked might be read and acted on by the Convention. 

Mr. Jackson, of Saline, objected to the reading and moved 
their rel'erence to the Committee on Resolutions. 

Previous to the vote on said motion, Mr. Withers withdrew the 
resolutions, and then, by leave of the Convention, the resolu- 
tions were handed over to the Committee. 

The President being notified of the presence of Gov. Sterling 
Price, in the house, on motion of Dr. Lowry, of Howard, ap- 
pointed Messrs. Lowry, of Howard, and Shewalter, of Lafayette, 
a committee to wait upon him and invite him to a seat within the bar. 
Mr. C. T. Worley, offered the following resolutions : 
Resolved, That it is the sense of this Convention, that no 
valuable purpose whatever will be subserved by debate, but on the 
other hand, will most certainly lead to heated and unprofitable 
excitement ; therefore, 



21 

Resolved, That from hcnceforwarcl, we will proceed on all 
propositions submitted to a direct vote. 

Mr. Jackson, of Saline, moved to lay the resolutions on the 
table, which motion was carried. 

On motion of Mr. King, of Ray, the Convention adjourned 
till to-morrow mornincr at ei<T;ht o'clock. 



SECOND DAY. 

Friday Morning, 8 o'clock. 

The Convention met, and was called to order by the President. 

Owing to the absence of Mr. Lowe, one of the Secretaries, oa 
motion of Col. S. A. Young, of Boone, L. J. Sharp, of Lafay- 
ette, was appointed to act in his place. 

On motion of J. \V. Bryant, of Saline, the proceedings of yes- 
terday were ordered to be read. 

It being announced that other delegates had arrived from differ- 
ent counties, the following named gentlemen appeared and took 
their seats in Convention : 

F. Walker, of Howard, Dr. E. C. Moss, of Pettis, P. T. Able, 
Esq. of Platte, and George T. Wood, of Henry. Messrs. J. 
Loughborough and George F. Hill also appeared and took their 
seats as delegates from St. Louis county.' 

Dr. Lowry, of Howard, moved that the President appoint a 
committee to wait on President Shannon, of Boone, and invite 
him to address the Convention on the subject of slavery. 

A motion was then made to lay Dr. Dowry's motion on the 
table, which, being voted upon by counties, resulted as follows : 

Yeas — Cass, Daviess, Henry, Johnson, Ray, Cole, Clay. 

Noes — Andrew, Boone, Caldwell, Carroll, Cooper, Jackson, 
Lafayette, Livingston, Linn, Morgan, Pettis, Platte, Randolph, 
Chariton, St. Louis, Saline. 

Dr. Dowry's motion was then put to the Convention, and on 
motion of C. F. Jackson, of Saline, the rule to vote by counties 
was suspended. Dr. Dowry's motion was then adopted by the 
Convention : whereupon the President appointed Dr. Lowry, of 
Howard, and Major Morin, of Platte, said committee. 

S. L. Sawyer, of Lafayette, announced that the Committee on 
Resolutions was ready to report. 

The report being called for, the Committee proceeded to report, 
through their Chairman, Judge Napton, of Saline, the following 
preamble and resolutions : 

Whereas, This Convention have observed a deliberate and ap- 
parently systematic effort, on the part of several States of this 
Union, to wage a war of extermination upon the institution of 
slavery as it exists under the Constitution of the United States, 



22 

and of the several States, by legislative enactments annulling acts 
of Congress passed in pursuance of the Constitution, and incor- 
porating large moneyed associations to abolitionize Kansas, and 
through Kansas to operate upon the contiguous iStates of Mis- 
souri, Arkansas and Texas ; this Convention, representing that 
portion of Missouri more immediately affected by these move- 
ments, deem it proper to make known their opinions and purposes, 
and what they believe to be the opinions and purposes of the whole 
State, and to this end have agreed to the following resolutions : 

1. That we regard the institution of African slavery, whether 
relating to its social, moral, political or economical aspect, solely 
and exclusively a question of State jurisdiction, and any agitation 
of this question in the Congress of the United States, or in States 
where it has no existence, with a view to affect its condition, or 
bring about its destruction, is a direct and dangerous attack upon 
the reserved rights of the several slaveholding states, and is an 
impertinent interference in matters nowise concerning the agita- 
tors, and, if persisted in, must sooner or later destroy all harmony 
and good feeling between the States and the citizens thereof, and 
will finally result in a dissolution of the Union, 

2. That the resolution on the part of several of the northern 
and western non- slaveholding States, never to admit another 
slaveholding State into.this Union, is substantially a declaration of 
hostility to our Federal Constitution, and avows a purpose to dis- 
regard its compromises ; and implies a threat of continued ag- 
gression upon, and ultimate destruction of slavery, under whatever 
sanctions it may exist. 

3. That the diffusion of slavery over a wider surface tends 
greatly to ameliorate the condition of the slave, whilst it advances 
the prosperity of his owner ; and the admission of new slavehold- 
ing States into the Union, by maintaining to some extent an equi- 
librium between the conflicting influences which now control the 
Federal Government, is the only reliable guarantee which the 
slaveholding minority have for the protection of their property 
against unconstitutional and oppressive legislation by the non- 
slaveholding majority, now and hereafter destined to be in the 
ascendancy. 

4. That we cordially approve the recent act of Congress, for 
the settlement of Kansas and Nebraska, and the act of 1850, 
popularly known as the Fugitive Slave Law. 

5. That the incorporation of moneyed associations, under the 
patronage of sovereign States of this Union, for the avowed pur- 
pose of recruiting and colonizing largo armies of abolitionists 
upon the territory of Kansas, and for the avowed purpose of 
destroying the value and existence of slave property now in that 
Territory, in despite of the wishes of the bona fide independent 
settlers thereof, and for the purpose, equally plain and obvious 



23 

whether avowed or not, of ultimately abolishing slavery in 
Missouri, is a species of legislation and a mode ot' emigration 
unprecedented in our history, and is an attempt, by State legis- 
lation, indirectly to thwart the purposes of a constitutional and 
equitable enactment of Congress, by which the domestic institu- 
tions of the territories were designed to be left to the exclusive 
management and control of the bona fide settlers thereof. 

6. That these organized bands of colonists, shipped from Mas- 
sachusetts and other quarters under State patronage, and resem- 
bling in their essential features the military colonies planted by 
the Roman Emperors upon their conquered provinces, rather than 
the pioneers who have hitherto levelled the forests and broke up 
the plains of the West, authorize apprehension of an intent of 
exclusive occupancy, and will necessarily lead to organized re- 
sistance on the part of those who, under the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, have equal rights to possession ; and 
whilst we earnestly deprecate such results, we are justified in ad- 
vance in placing their entire responsibility upon those who have 
commenced the system, and are the aggressors. 

7. That we disclaim all right and any intent to interfere with 
the bona fide independent settlers in the Territory of Kansas, 
from whatever quarter they may come, or whatever opmions they 
may entertain ; but we maintain the right to protect ourselves and 
our property against all unjust and unconstitutional aggression, 
present or prospective, immediate or threatened ; and we do not 
hold it necessary or expedient to wait until the torch is applied to 
oar dwellings, or the knife to our throats, before we take measures 
for our security and the security of our firesides. 

8. That the eighteen counties of Missouri, lying on or near the 
border of Kansas, with only an imaginary boundary intervening, 
contain a population of about fifty thousand slaves, worth, at 
present prices, twenty -five millions of dollars; and this large 
amount of property, one half of the entire slave property of the 
State, is not merely unsafe, but valueless, if Kansas is made the 
abode of an army of hired fanatics, recruited, transported, armed 
and paid for the special and sole purpose of abolitionizing Kansas 
and Missouri. 

9. That this convention and the people the}' represent, and the 
State government of Missouri, and the entire people thereof, 
should take such measures as to them appear suitable and just 
and constitutional, to prevent such disastrous consequences to 
their security and prosperity and peace ; and confidently reiving 
upon the sympathy and support of the entire South and South- 
west, whose ultimate fate must inevitably be the same with theirs, 
and confidently relying also upon the conservative portion ol the 
North, they respectfully appeal to the good sense and patriotism 
of the entire North, to put down such fanatical aggressions as 



24 

have hitherto characterized the movements of Emigrant Aid So- 
cieties, and leave the settlement of Kansas and the regulation of 
its domestic institutions to be controlled as the settlement and in- 
stitutions of our other territories have been, by those impulses of 
self-interest and congeniality of feeling on the part of settlers, 
which, by the natural laws of climate and soil, will, if undisturbed, 
invariably determine the ultimate condition of the Territory. 

10. That a committee of five be appointed to draw up and pub- 
lish an address to the people of the United States, setting forth 
the history of this Kansas excitement, with the views and action 
of our people thereon, in conformity with the principles and po- 
sitions of the foregoing resolutions ; and that printed copies of 
the same, with a copy of these resolutions appended, be for- 
warded by the Secretary of this Convention to the Executive of 
each State in the Union. 

After the reading of which. Judge Napton proceeded to address 
the Convention in support of the resolutions. 

Judge Napton then read the following resolution, as recom- 
mended by the Committee, to the Convention : 

Resolved, That in view of the acts of the legislature of the 
State of Massachusetts, and other Northern and Western States, 
practically nullifying the Constitution of the United States, and 
the lav^s of Congress relating to the rendition of fugitive slaves, 
and in vindication of the Constitution, and for the purpose of 
preserving the integrity of the American Union, we recommend to 
the General Assembly of Missouri to pass such retaliatory mea- 
sures, discriminating against the sale of the productions or man- 
ufactures, or material of commerce, whether of importation by 
them or of the production of said States, within this State, as they 
may deem proper for that purpose, and that such measures shall 
be made operative as long as the offensive legislation above re- 
ferred to continues on the statute books of those States. 

Mr. Withers, of Clay, moved the adoption of the resolutions 
as reported by the Committee, and the vote being taken by coun- 
ties, resulted in their unanimous adoption. 

On motion of C. F. Jackson, of Saline, the vote upon said re- 
solutions was then taken by the house, standing, which resulted 
in their unanimous adoption. 

A motion was then made to adopt the resolution recommended 
by the Committee to the Convention. 

Mr. Torbert, of Cooper, offered the following amendment : 

"Insert after the word ' manufactures,' the words, or materi- 
als of commerce, whether of importation by them or of their pro- 
duction ;" pending which the Convention adjourned till 2 o'clock, 
P.M. 



25 

EVENING SESSION. 

The Convention met and was called to order by the I'rosident. 

Major Morin, ol^ Platte, from the committee appointed to Avait 
on President Shannon, reported that President Shannon would 
address the Convention at any time, at the pleasure of the Con- 
vention. 

Mr. Torbert, of Cooper, withdrew the amendment offered by 
him this morning to the resolution recommended by the Commit- 
tee, and offered the following substitute : 

Resolved, That in view of the acts of the State of Massachu- 
setts, and other northern and north-western States, practically 
nullifying the Constitution of the United States, and the laws of 
Congress relating to the rendition of fugitive slaves, and in vin- 
dication of the Constitution, and for the purpose of preserving 
the integrity of the American Union, we recommend to the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the State of Missouri to pass such retaliatory 
measures as may not be inconsistent with the Constitution of the 
United States, or the State of Missouri, discriminating against 
the sale of the productions, manufactures, or goods and merchan- 
dise of any description whatever, of said States, within this State, 
as may be deemed proper for that purpose, and that '-^uch retalia- 
tory'' measures shall be made operative as long as the offensive 
legislation above referred to continues on the statute books of 
those States. 

Col. J. B. Brown, of Ray, moved to recommit the original 
resolution, together with the substitute, to the Committee on 
Resolutions. 

The previous question was caHed for and sustained by the Con- 
vention. On this, the President decided, the effect was to require 
a direct vote on the adoption of the substitute as offered by Mr. 
Torbert. From this decision an appeal was taken by Gov. King, 
of Ray, and the decision of the Chair was sustained by the vote 
of the Convention. The vote then being taken on the substitute, 
it was adopted. 

Mr. Withers, of Clay, offered a set of resolutions to the Con- 
vention for adoption ; whereupon a discussion arose, pending 
which Mr. Withers withdrew his resolutions. 

Col. T. M. Ewing, of Lafayette, presented to the Convention a 
letter from Gov. Metcalf, of Kentucky, which being read, on mo- 
tion of J. B. Clark, of Howard, was entered upon the record, and 
made a part of the proceedings of this Convention. 

Forest Retreat, Ky., July, 1855. 
Gentlemen of the Committee : 

Allow me to acknowledge the receipt of your kind favor of the 
21st ult., inviting me to meet in Convention at Lexington, Mo., 



26 

on the 12th inst. Your letter having been addressed to me at Car- 
lisle, instead of Forest Retreat, Kentucky, delayed its reception 
a few days, in consequence of which this reply may not reach you 
in due time for your meeting. It would indeed afford me great 
pleasure to meet you on that patriotic occasion. But, the deli- 
cacy of my health at present, although it has not cut off all hope 
of ultimate recovery, is such as to forbid me from attempting the 
journey to Lexington. 

If 1 am not ungraciously and unfairly treated by my friends of 
the Louisville Journal, a second letter of mine must by this time 
be published in that paper, intended as a reply to their editorial 
commentary upon t\\Q first — the one referred to in your postscript. 
My first letter that appeared in the Journal, had been elicited by 
one previously received from a friend in that place, whose plea- 
sure it was to hand it over for publication, to the editor of that 
paper ; and it was published accordingly, with a long editorial 
commentary, in which, although kind and even generous enough in 
a personal point of view, they did not fail, polUictillij^ to give 
Old Stoneharnmer a right severe pelting with their ingenious and 
hard-twisted sophisms, intended to cast great hlayne and all sorts 
of dishonor upon the southern section, for having supported the 
Nebraska bill, &c. 

Believing myself, that the North had rede'^med itself from the 
disgrace — the dishonor of having disregarded its constitutional 
obligations in refusirg to admit Missouri as a State, except upon 
the condition of restriction, north of 36"^ 30', and not then, 
except by a few votes from that section — the most of whom were 
condemned and prostrated by their constituents respectively, who 
at that time denied that the few truant votes of the North consti- 
tuted a bargain on their part, or placed that section under any 
legal or moral obligation to abide by it, I was induced in my fee- 
ble way to vindicate the voters. North and South, who supported 
the Nebraska bill. It is true, that in 1820 the southern section 
yielded to the glaring imposition cf restriction, rather than keep 
Missouri any longer out of her constitutional right of admission, 
that being the only alternative presented by the North for the time 
being. But, did not all the parties know full well that no power 
was lodged in that Congress to repeal, alter or modify any one of 
the constitutional rights of succeeding generations? Was it not 
well understood by all, that the Federal Convention alone had the 
right to fix upon the line of 36* 30', or upon any other line? 
and just as well known that the Union would never have been 
formed if such an alternative had been presented to our illustrious 
forefathers of that Convention? If in 1820 Congress had the 
power to legislate upon the subject at all, by wha' means has the 
same body been deprived of the right of legislation upon the same 
subject in 1855 ? 



27 

To put any other construction than this upon the intention or 
designs of the Congress of' 1S20, would, to my mind, amount to 
an imputation of great arrogance on tlie part of that body, in the 
assumption of power not conferred upon t. Admit the right of 
a subsequent Congress to alter or obliterate the line of 30'^ 30', 
and let this ];iiter ca?)2pro)7iise be sustained, together with the Fu- 
gitive Slave Law, and all will be well for the future. Repeal 
these acts, and we shall soon hear of retaliation in other forms 
than described by Mr. Calhoun, which God lorbid. But, pardon 
my brevity, and allow me to refer you to my forthcoming letter, 
expected in the Louisville Journal, for my further views touching 
this question. 

With many sincere thanks for your kind invitation, allow me 
respectfully to subscribe myself your honored and ob't servant, 

TflOS. METCALF. 

Messrs. T. M. Ewixg, Wm. Shields, W:,i. T. Wood, F. A. 

KoWNSLAPx. 

P. S. — It is my intention to visit Missouri, if I can once more 
recover my health so as to justify the undertaking ; and in that 
event will certainly call on my Lexington friends of the Committee. 

T. M. 

Mr. F. a. Kownslar, of Lafayette, offered the following reso- 
lution, which was adopted: 

l\esolved, That the peace, quiet, and welfare of this and every 
other slaveholding State, as also a regard for the integrity of the 
Union, require the passage, by the respective State legislatures, 
of effective laws, suppressing within said States the circulation of 
abolition or freesoil publications, and the promulgation of freesoil 
or abolition opinions. 

Mr. Graves, of Howard, moved that the Convention take a re- 
cess of fifteen minutes, and then re-assemble to hear the address 
of President Shannon. Motion sustained, and Convention took 
a recess. 

The Convention re- assembled. 

President Shannon came forward and delivered his address, 
after which Cul. Anderson, of Lafayette, moved that the Presi- 
dent appoint a committ'^e to wait on President Shannon, and re- 
quest a copy of his address for publication. 

C(»l. S. A. Young moved to amend said motion by the follow- 
ing : That a committee be appointed to wait on President 
Shannon, and request a copy of his address for publication, and 
that tiie speech be published in connexion with, and as a part of 
the proceedings of this Convention. 

Pending which motion, the Convention adjourned till 8 o'clock, 
to-night. 



28 

NIGHT SESSION. 

The Convention met, and was called to order by the President. 

Col. Anderson explained his motion made previous to adjourn- 
ment, and Col. Young withdrew his amendment; whereupon a dis- 
cussion followed, when F. C. Sharp, Esq., of Lafayette, offered 
the following resolutions : 

1st. Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are hereby 
tendered to President Shannon, for his able and patriotic address 
delivered before us. 

2d. That President Shannon is hereby requested to furnish a 
copy of his address to this Convention for publication ; and the 
Convention hereby expresses the desire that he will deliver his 
address in as many counties in this State, as his duties will 
allow. 

Pending the discussion of these resolutions, Mr. Sharp with- 
drew his resolutions and oft'ered the following : 

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention are hereby ten- 
dered to President Shannon, for his address delivered before us, 
and he is hereby requested to furnish a copy of the same for 
publication. 

And the vote being taken by counties, the resolution was 
adopted by the following vote : 

Yeas — Boone, Carroll, Cooper, Howard, Jackson, Johnson, 
Lafayette, Livingston, Pettis, Platte, St. Louis, Ray. 

Noes — Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Saline. Two other coun- 
ties votino: in the negative. 

(The minutes of the clerk upon taking this vote being imper- 
fect, the vote by counties cannot be given with certainty. ) 

Mr. Cook appeared as a delegate from St. Louis, and took his 
seat in the Convention. 

On motion, the Convention adjourned till 8 o'clock, to-morrow 
morning. 

THIRD DAY. 

Saturday Morning, 8 o'clock. 

The Convention met, and was called to order by the President. 

The President announced the following named gentlemen, to 
compose the committee to draw up and publish an address, as 
required by the tenth resolution : 

Hon. W. B. Napton, of Saline county, (Chairman;) Hon. M. 
Oliver, of Ray county ; Gov. Sterling Price, Col. Sam. H. Wood- 
son, of Jackson county, and Hon. A. A. King, of Ray county. 

The President also announced the following committee, to pro- 



29 

cure and superintend the printing, under the notion of this Con- 
vention, as required by the resolution of Mr. I'eabodj : 

Wm. Shiehls, Edward Winsor, and Charles Patterson. 

It is also made the duty of said last mentioned committee, to 
call on President Shannon, and obtain a copy of liis speech for 
publication. 

Col. S. A. Young rose and informed the Convention, that he 
had information that a letter had been received by a member of this 
Convention, Mr. Field, from a distinguished politician, advising 
and urging him, that unless certain resolutions were adopted by 
this Convention, to secede from the Convention and break it up in 
a row ; and he wished this matter investigated, and the facts 
properly brought out. 

Mr. Field required of Col. Young to give the name of the dis- 
tinguished politician who had written the letter, and whether he 
referred to him. 

Objection was made to the Convention hearing anything further 
of the matter complained of by Col. Young. 

The President decided that Col. Young was out of or'.ler, there 
being no proposition before the Convention. 

Mr. Moss, of Clay, moved that the Convention proceed to in- 
quire into, and investigate the matters charged by Col. Young. 

Gen. Clark moved to lay the motion of Mr. Moss on the table. 

Mr. Field desired to make an explanation. lie had called for 
the name of the author of the letter ; did not get it ; could not 
get him to say he was the member of the Convention alluded to, 
as having received the letter, but, from rumor, supposed he was 
the Field alluded to, and Maj. J. S. Rollins the alleged author of 
the supposed letter. He had a private letter from Maj. Rollins, 
which, amongst other things, spoke of this Convention and its 
objects, but in terms of approval — giving his opinions and views 
in strict accordance with the platform of, and principles o.d)pte:l 
by, this Convention, and denied that there was one word of truth 
in the charge that Maj. Rollins advised a secession from the Con- 
vention, or to break it up in a row in any contingency. He said the 
letter of Maj. Rollins was at his office, and, although a private 
letter, any gentleman who desired could see it; that he had in- 
tended, if the investigation proceeded, to show it in Convention, 
and appealed to a number of members of the Convention who had 
seen the letter, to say whether he had not given a true statement 
as to its contents. 

Col. Doniphan, Mr. Sawyer, Mr. Grover, and Mr. Moss, who 
had seen the letter, confirmed the statement of Mr. Field, as to the 
contents of the letter. 

Col. Young acknowledged himself satisfied, and expressed his 
gratification that the rumors on the street to Maj. Rollins' preju- 
dice were so fully proven to be false and groumlless, and said his 



30 

object in bringing this matter up was to do but an act of justice 
to his friend and neighbor, Maj. Rollins. 

The motions to lay on the table and for investigation were 
withdrawn. 

On motion, the thanks of the Convention were tendered to the 
President and other officers of the Convention, for the faithful 
manner in which they had discharged their duties. 

On motion of Maj. Morin, of Platte, a vote of thanks was 
tendered to the citizens of Lafayette, for their kind hospitality. 

On motion, it was Resolved, That the proceedings of this 
Convention, together with the address to be prepared by the com- 
mittee appointed for that purpose, be published in pamphlet form ; 
that a committee of three be appointed by the Chair, to superin- 
tend their publication, and that a contribution be made by the 
delegates to this Convention and others present, to defray the 
expenses of said publication. 

Resolved, That ten thousand copies of said proceedings and 
address be published, and that they be distributed to every part 
of the State, by the publishing committee, in such manner as may 
be practicable and advisable. 

On motion of Mr. Staples, of Pettis, the Convention adjourned 
si)7 6 clict 

WM. T. WOOD, FresidenL 

L. A. Wisely, ) e / • 

L. J. Sharp, 



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